Forever's a long time to wait
by Sceptic01
Summary: Forever's a long time. Sometimes you just have to let go... But other times time you have to stand and fight. After all, real revenge is worth waiting for.
1. Chapter 1

Forever's a long time to wait  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. I AM NOT J K ROWLING.  
  
Ok, I've finally started this story. I've been meaning to do it for ages. Please review, no flames though. If you want to insult someone go shout at the mirror. Anyway, here it is.  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
Sirius Black stood in the hall of the empty house, heart racing. The wind howled through the open door scattering paper in every direction.  
  
"Peter?" He called again.  
  
Again no answer. Sirius' mind was racing. What the hell was Peter playing at? Why had he left? Or had he been forced...  
  
Even as his brain provided this thought he knew it wasn't true and he felt the blood drain out of his face as he turned and bolted out of the door into the stormy night.  
  
"My Lord?"  
  
The tall figure did not turn around yet Peter knew he had to continue.  
  
"My Lord. I..." He trembled, stumbling over his words, "It's the Potters..." Again he trailed off but this time it was because the figure had turned to face him, face shadowed underneath a jet black hood.  
  
Peter fought the urge to run. This 'man', if that's what he was, emanated evil like Rita Skeeter invented stories.  
  
"The Potters..?" The man repeated in a low voice.  
  
Peter swallowed. "I know where they are... and I can take you to them."  
  
The wind rippled through Sirius' hair as he sped through the air on his motorbike. It wasn't dark yet but Sirius didn't care, nothing mattered anymore, except that he got to Godrics Hollow before Peter did.  
  
The tiny bundle in Hagrid's arms wriggled, trying to throw off the blanket. Hagrid smiled sadly down at him, tears still rolling down his face into his wild tangled beard.  
  
A thunderous roar came from the right. Hagrid looked up. It was Sirius. 'Poor guy' thought Hagrid. Sirius' face was a whiter than a sheet of paper. It looked gaunt, as though an invisible force was torturing him from the inside. Silent tears trickled down his face as he gazed unseeingly at the broken house, then lowered his eyes.  
  
"They're dead. I can't believe it." He said thickly, voice breaking.  
  
"Not all" Said Hagrid quietly.  
  
Sirius looked up startled.  
  
"What..?"  
  
Hagrid nodded down at the bundle. " Got littl' 'Arry out. Takin' 'im to Dumbledore now."  
  
"What? No! Why? What does want Dumbledore him for?"  
  
"'Arry's got to 'ave a family, Sirius. Dumbledore's takin' 'im to live with 'is Aunt an' Uncle."  
  
"But, but they're Muggles! He's a wizard Hagrid! They won't have anything do with him. He'll end up in a orphanage!'  
  
"Dumbledore reckons it's the safest place for 'im..."  
  
"No Hagrid! Give him to me. I'm his Godfather, I'll look after him. He's my responsibility."  
  
"Sirius" Said Hagrid softly, "Dumbledore knows what's best for..."  
  
"I don't give a damn what Dumbledore says" Sirius yelled, "James and Lily entrusted him to me! I'm not leaving him!"  
  
"Sirius! Calm down! An' don't you dare crit'ize Dumbledore, 'e's a good man an'" Hagrid stopped. "Sirius, I 'ave to take 'im..."  
  
"I know. It's just." He looked at the house. "He was my best friend Hagrid. My best..." He shook his head. "Look, take my motorbike. You'll get there quicker."  
  
"What? No! It's yours, you love it..."  
  
"Hagrid! Take it!" Shouted Sirius, then more quietly he added, "It's not as if I'll be needing it anymore"  
  
Hagrid hesitated, then said "Thanks", as Sirius held out the keys. "Look, it'll be alright, you'll see. 'E's gone now..."  
  
But Sirius was already walking away, shoulders hunched and hands jammed forcefully in pockets.  
  
"Look, it'll be alright, you'll see. 'E's gone now..."  
  
Sirius barely even heard. What did it matter who had gone? The only person who was gone in his mind was James. He couldn't believe it, in fact the only thing that was making him believe it was the gaping chasm inside him that was the hole where James had been.  
  
Don't worry mate. I will avenge your death. Wormtail's not gonna get away with this. I never let him forget it. Never.  
  
And Sirius walked away, tears still glistening on his face but his eyes were dry now. Now was not the time to cry. Now was the time to fight. Now he had time to kill. And that was precisely what he was going to do. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling etc.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Sirius woke up on the lumpy mattress of the muggle hotel he was staying in. It hadn't taken him long to track Peter down but although Sirius wanted revenge, he wasn't sure that endangering innocent people's lives was the way to do it - after all, James, Lily and Harry had been innocent enough.  
  
Sirius rolled off the bed catching a glimpse of himself in the cracked mirror that hung by a dangerously thin piece of string from the nail in the wall. He looked awful; Sirius raised an eyebrow at his reflection and ran a finger over his unshaven chin. His mother would go spare if she could see him now, hair that hadn't seen a brush in two days and filthy robes which showed distinct signs of having been slept in; a disgrace to the family name - mind you, that wasn't much of a change, he had been a disappointment since he was four, when he had made friends with James Potter the 'blood traitor' instead of Robert Avery the 'perfect pure blood'.  
  
He looked into the mirror defiantly, half hoping that if he said James' name, his friend would appear in it, talk to him, just like they had at Hogwarts with their mirrors. But no, that wouldn't work, this was a muggle mirror, and besides, James was gone, nothing would bring him back now - however much he wanted to. He wasn't even sure James would want to come back from wherever he'd gone; time to just accept it and move on - after he'd settled a few scores of course.  
  
Ah well, thought Sirius if I'm going to be a humiliation to my dear family, may as well do it in style, and with that he rumpled his already tangled hair and winked at himself with a trace of the old cheeky menace he thought he had left at Hogwarts and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Perhaps it was because he was so absorbed in his own thoughts, or that the muggle cleaner on the floor above chose that precise moment to start the hoovering, that he didn't hear the effect his slamming had had.  
  
The hotel was a very shabby one and the walls didn't take kindly to being almost knocked out of their supports. The reason Sirius had booked into this particular hotel was because he didn't have much muggle money on him as his present task was more impulsive than premeditated and he had not taken time to go to Gringotts. That, and it was the nearest place he could get to where Peter was staying short of knocking on the grate and asking to stay the night. Anyway, even a grubby hotel is better than the sewers and he didn't fancy sleeping on the street - not all muggles took that kindly to bear sized dogs sleeping on their door steps.  
  
At any rate, the door which Sirius had slammed shut with considerable force was still trembling in its frame but the walls, now motionless had shuddered upon the impact of the 6'6" by 2'6" oaken slab cashing into them and this tremor had been just enough to loosen a certain crooked nail in the rapidly deteriorating wall to the point of twisting loose and sending its previously suspended occupant hurtling earthwards; which it did. Spectacularly.  
  
In a shower of silver shards, the mirror burst from its frame and lay in haphazard fragments, splayed out across the threadbare carpet. The pieces glinted in the morning sunlight filtering in through the grime caked window. Seven years bad luck, and it was only just beginning.  
  
Wormtail squinted up at the early morning sun with increasing dislike. - if only it would stay dark for a few more hours, then he could get away without anyone seeing. He turned and dashed out from behind the crate of fruit he had been hiding behind, towards the dark alley way a few doors hence. The reason behind his bad temper was simple. He was a dead man.  
  
Well, not quite yet, but it was definitely going to happen sooner rather than later if he didn't do something about it fast. He looked around to check their was no one who could see him, and transformed back into his human form.  
  
Casting a weary glance around the corner of the passageway, he sidled out into the street. Cautiously he walked down the street to the supermarket, he planned to leave as soon as possible, but there was no way he was going without food.  
  
Walking down a bustling street and looking inconspicuous was no problem for Peter. He'd managed to look insignificant every day of his life, even at school when he'd had friends he was still the one who everyone had overlooked. James got noticed because of his Quidditch abilities, Sirius got noticed because of his good looks and Remus was one of the smartest people in the entire year as well as being exceptionally strong. That feeling of inferiority was probably why he had joined Voldemort in the first place. For once, he had thought he could really be someone, he wouldn't be the little unnoticed kid anymore, people would look up to him, fear him.  
  
In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth. Being a deatheater just meant he now got pushed around by someone even bigger than James and Sirius; not that they'd pushed him around that much, most of the time they'd protected him from other people. Somewhere inside him, Peter knew he'd just made things worse for himself, because know he'd lost everything, his self respect, his friends and before long, he was sure it was going to be deprived of his life.  
  
He knew who it would come after him, he also knew that this person's greatest weakness was his hot headedness. That was why Peter wasn't afraid enough to abandon all hope just yet, that was why he had let himself oversleep this morning and that was why he was chancing a trip to the shops before he set off again. His life depended on Sirius not going to Remus to tell him Lily and James had switched secret keeper. If Sirius did that, it was all over, the friends had always been able to tell when each other were lying. Remus would trust Sirius and then they would both be after him. The two together would be deadly.  
  
If Remus was after him, he'd have been up at the crack of dawn. Remus was dangerous because he was levelheaded. Being a werewolf had made him remarkably calm in hostile situations because he didn't like to attack quickly for fear of losing control. If he lost control, the ministry would lock him up. When an ordinary witch or wizard got into a fight, they might just be fined or get away with a caution. If a werewolf hit someone, the ministry would put them into Azkaban and throw away the key. Unjust, yes, but since when did laws make sense?  
  
Peter remembered being horrified when Remus had told them about the laws, now he was grateful for them. Remus couldn't do anything to him. Peter had planned it that way, and he'd made sure there was a back up plan; even if Remus wanted to chase him now, he couldn't. It was full moon and dear old Moony would be exhausted from the change; he probably didn't even know that Lily and James were dead yet. On the night they died, Sirius couldn't have gone to him because he would have had to deal single handedly with a ferocious werewolf.  
  
Peter cast an anxious look over his shoulder. He could have sworn someone was following him. Sirius couldn't be here could he? The entire auror squad would be looking for him. Dumbledore should have told them by now that Sirius had been the Potter's secret keeper.  
  
Sirius might be here, but at least, Peter thought for the umpteenth time, it wasn't Moony, Sirius was bound to lose control, at least Peter hoped he would.  
  
He had reached the end of the street by the time he realized he'd missed the shop he was looking for. He doubled back and came face to face with Sirius. To Peter's surprise, he didn't look furious or even angry. He looked- Peter searched for the right word - tired. Then Sirius smiled and Peter suddenly realized that Sirius wasn't furious or irate or even deranged. He looked like a man who had been searching for something all his life and had finally found it. The thing was, that now he'd found it. What did he have to live for?  
  
Panic erupted inside Peter. He'd thought that Sirius wouldn't be stupid enough to confront him in full view of muggles because he'd be afraid of the what the ministry would do to him. He was only just realizing that Sirius didn't care anymore. He hadn't counted on that.  
  
"Hello Worm. How're things?" He asked pleasantly "Seen any old friends lately?"  
  
'Oh s***' thought Peter as he turned to run, and found himself facing a concrete wall.  
  
Amailaya & Aria-wolfstar- Thank you, yes I am continuing with this story, this isn't the last chapter so keep reviewing please. :-) 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling etc.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Sirius had been trailing Peter ever since he'd stepped out of the alleyway; Peter was not the only one who had a talent for concealing himself. Although Peter was walking quickly, Sirius never lost his trail once. Even without being able to see him, he could still sense him – pure animal instinct.  
  
After a while, Sirius noticed that the crowds of people were thinning and it was then that he saw where Peter was leading him – down a street that was shut off at the end. A dead end. There could be two reasons for this, reasoned Sirius, either he's leading me into a trap, or he's in such a panic that he's forgotten where he's going. Knowing Peter, it was probably the latter.  
  
Sirius hung back as he saw Peter steal a glance over his shoulder and then hurry on again, faster now. Sirius advanced cautiously, moving stealthily as he had done so many times at Hogwarts; Peter had more to lose than he did and he definitely wasn't to be trusted.  
  
Suddenly Peter halted abruptly, paused for second and turned round just as Sirius stepped forward. HE looked like a deer caught in the headlights – no. Not a deer, a rat; a rat who'd been caught in his own trap. Sirius smiled, he was going to enjoy this.  
  
"Hello Worm. How are things?" He asked conversationally; a flicker of uncertainty passed across Peter's rapidly paling face. "Seen any old friends lately?"  
  
Wormtail spun around on his heels, ready to run and found himself facing a very solid looking wall. Sirius' grin widened as the small man in front of him turned back to face him trembling. Sirius had him cornered, there was no escape now – except....  
  
A vaguely familiar voice echoed in the depths of his mind: 'Beware of cornered animals, they're very dangerous. They're trapped and the only thing between them and freedom is you; and they don't care if you get hurt.'  
  
Sirius saw Wormtail's hand reach for his wand the moment before his instinct told him to do the same, but even as he drew his own wand he heard Peter's plaintive cries, easily distinguishable above the clamor of the crowd.  
  
"You betrayed them Sirius! Lily and James! How could you?" Peter's voice shrilled, tears running down his cheeks. Everyone in the vicinity was staring at them now, a few people started forward uncertainly. Then, for a fraction of a second, Peter's eyes darted to a point just behind him, to the right and Sirius, glancing down realised what the sneaky little git was about to do.  
  
He dived at Wormtail, strings of curses issuing from his mouth as he did so but it was too late; behind him, the street exploded in clouds of black smoke, the hundreds of missed spells illuminating odd shapes amongst it. Sirius knew then that it was over, he knew Peter had won. But he didn't believe it; he couldn't believe it.  
  
It was as Peter turned back to face Sirius that he noticed the grate and a plan sprang to life in his desperate mind. He didn't know if it would work, but it was his only chance; Sirius would never let him escape in one piece – Peter started, 'in one piece'...  
  
All he needed was a few seconds, a few seconds in which Sirius was still unable to use magic. Judging on his past experiences, surprise was the best option he had and there was no time like the present.  
  
Using reflexes even James would have been proud of had he not been dead, Peter pulled his wand from his pocket, careful to keep it out of sight of the watching muggles and yelled what was soon to become known as, though he did not know it as yet, his famous last words.  
  
"You betrayed them Sirius! Lily and James! How could you?"  
  
Tears of desperation ran down his cheeks, most probably adding to the 'distraught victim' effect. Just as Sirius raised his wand, Peter cast the most impressive spell he had ever managed to pull off. It certainly had the desired effect at any rate, thought Peter with the part of his mind that wasn't still reeling from shock at what he'd just done. The world in front of him exploded in clouds of billowing black smoke and before his common sense had time to object, he sliced off his index finger and dived towards the grate.  
  
When he reached the bottom of the shaft he fell headfirst into murky, rank water and began to swim. He swam as fast as he could, never looking back, trying not to think about Sirius and Lily and James and all the innocent people he had just murdered. If he got far enough away, he could almost kid himself that none of it had ever happened. Almost.  
  
As the smoke cleared, Sirius' form became slowly visible again. He was standing, wand arm outstretched, staring at the space where Peter had been. There were slight scorch marks on the wall where his futile spell attempts had hit.  
  
Behind him, the sooty black smoke hadn't quite thinned yet but the damage was already evident. The street looked as though someone had tried to tear it apart at the seams; huge piles of rubble replaced what was previously a smooth tarmac road. Good luck to the ministry trying to explain this one Sirius thought dryly.  
  
A small cry broke the eerie silence and the air gradually filled with the voices of screaming, crying people.  
  
Sirius just stood there, not hearing the roar of noise behind him. His gaze fell on the black grate through which Peter, Sirius' only chance of survival, had led. On the ground near it was a finger, Peter's finger. He wasn't as stupid as he looked, thought Sirius bitterly. Not surprising really, it was theoretically impossible for anyone to be that thick.  
  
Sirius smiled wearily, he was tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of living. You spend all your life trying to stand up for what you believe is right, and no one cares. The ministry of magic were going to lock him up in Azkaban without a second thought and Peter, the lying, traitorous rat had escaped scot-free; and that my friend, said a little voice in his head, is life.  
  
He saw a group of horrified looking wizards at the other end of the street, some of them were looking at him, the expressions on their faces were not very friendly to put it lightly. Sirius' smile broke into a low chuckle and then he was laughing like a mad man. He laughed at the irony of it all, because he was going to Azkaban, because he was going there for the one thing he had been avoiding all his life. He laughed because his mother would probably be proud of him now, he laughed because he'd hit rock bottom and was digging even further, he laughed because the world had thrown what it could at him and he was still standing and he laughed because, where he was going, laughter didn't exist and he wanted to remember this moment forever, he wouldn't let himself forget what happiness felt like. He couldn't, his sanity depended on it.  
  
As the ministry officials lead him away, he looked unseeingly at street around him, the broken pavement, the shattered windows of the shops and the dead bodies of muggles who had got in the way; Peter's doing, it was all Peter's doing, but it was his fault. His insane laughter stopped for a moment; he should have stopped him, he'd let James and Lily down, he'd let Harry down - but at least Harry was safe. Peter couldn't do anything now, he was dead to the world, a human trapped inside a rat's body. He wouldn't be able to do any more harm, at least not yet.  
  
As the officials tied his hand behind his back, he thought about Peter, down in the sewers with the rest of his kind and suddenly, the notion of Peter, scurrying about in human excrement with a missing toe, seemed incredibly funny and he started laughing again.  
  
The officials looked at him as though he was mad; well, he thought humorously, soon, I will be.  
  
Deep below muggle London, a rat sat in the dark sewer, nursing a maimed front paw. It flinched as squeakings and scufflings echoed menacingly in the endless shadow filled tunnels. Silently it stared in to the gloomy pungent depths of the passage way and then turned and slunk quietly away.  
  
A/N - There is still at least one more chapter to go so keep reviewing please. Thanx. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Are you sure you want to do this Harry?" asked Ginny, shading her eyes from the late summer sun.

"Yes, I'll meet you back here in a hour."

"Ok, see you later then," Ginny got back into the car and drove off. Harry watched until she was out of sight then turned and walked along down the path, ears filled with the sleepy sounds of summer.

He stopped when he reached the graves. Four them, neatly aligned in a row: James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. A small oak tree grew behind the headstones; it was around two meters high and someone had placed a plaque at its base. The inscription read:

_For those who have fallen, may they rest in peace_.

A note at the bottom certified that it had been commissioned by Remus Lupin some eighteen years previously.

Harry knelt down and laid a wreath of flowers on the third grave tracing the gold lettering with one finger.

_Sirius Black, beloved friend and godfather. May rest at last._

Harry heard a noise behind him and looked down to his left to see a small grey rat sitting by his feet.

"Hello Peter," he said nonchalantly, looking back at the graves and standing up.

A few moments later Peter appeared beside him, his initially pudgy face now bearing the marks of a lifetime's service under the rule of Voldemort. There were dark lines under his small black eyes and his yellow skin was stretched taut over his cheekbones given him a decidedly gaunt appearance. In some ways it was an improvement.

He flinched as Harry said, "What brings you here?"

Peter stared up at him from his forever hunched stance as Harry turned to face him.

"I..." he faltered, something about Harry had changed since Peter had last seen him. He looked the same, his messy black hair still stuck up in all directions emphasizing his vivid emerald eyes, but he seemed a lot taller, more confident and much, much more powerful.

Harry raised an eyebrow expectantly and Peter was reminded forcefully of Voldemort.

"I, they were my friends."

"'Were' being the operative word," muttered Harry under his breath.

"I didn't want to betray them you know. It wasn't as though I planned to do it," shrilled Peter, "But-"

"Voldemort forced you to I know. I've heard it all before," cut in Harry, gazing at the graves.

So many unnecessary deaths, all his doing. He, Harry had caused them, but he hadn't meant to, he hadn't had a choice. It was all the fault of some stupid bloody prophecy. That was what it all came down to ultimately. Even Peter was not entirely to blame; if there hadn't been a prophecy, his parents wouldn't have gone into hiding and Peter wouldn't have become and Death Eater and...

And things would have been different. Maybe. Fate, destiny, circumstance; maybe things would have turned out differently and maybe they wouldn't have, but this was the way things had happened and there was no changing that. And now there was only one last matter to be dealt with before he could finally put the past where it belonged.

"You know, Sirius and Remus wanted you dead Peter. In the Shrieking Shack, remember? But I stopped them killing you, I saved your life and then you repaid me by bringing about Voldemort's return."

"I had no cho-"

"There's always a choice Peter," yelled Harry, glaring at the small man cowering beside him. "But you chose the easy way out. Yes Peter, it was the easy way, compared to the other option at any rate," he said quietly seeing the man start to protest, "And you caused hundreds of deaths because of that decision including those of Sirius and Remus; so much for everlasting friendship. Personally I don't know how you've made it this far, but you have which is more than they did." Harry paused, glowering at the ground, there had been too many deaths, far too many. How much damage could one more do?

"Are you going to kill me?" asked Peter softly staring at the ground.

Harry continued staring at the grass for a while then said levelly, "Why did you come here today?"

"It's the anniversary of Sirius' death," said Peter in a subdued voice.

"Right. Didn't you realise I'd come here too?"

"Yes." There was a pause then, "I was waiting for you."

Harry smiled grimly, he'd suspected as much. "Why?"

"I don't know," said Peter wretchedly, "I just, I just can't stand hiding anymore, I've been doing it for eighteen bloody years!"

"It was your own choice." Harry looked into Peter's haunted eyes and asked softly, "Was it worth it?"

Peter stared up at him fearfully, "Worth what?"

"Was it worth it? All the lying, all the deceit? Would you do it again if it meant avoiding Azkaban? Was it worth it Peter?"

Peter was shaking now; he tore his eyes away from Harry's gaze and looked away. Was it worth it? No, it had never been worth it. He'd never been worth it.

Harry looked down at the broken man in front of him and shook his head; he'd got the answer he'd been looking for. It was funny, if Peter had said yes, if he'd have been prepared to go through it all again then maybe, just maybe Harry would have been able to conjure up a trace of respect for him, but now there was no chance. Not a hope in hell. Which was where Peter was right now, his own personal hell.

He'd come today because he'd been looking for a way out; he'd probably welcome death even after working so hard to elude it all these years. He'd finally realised that there was something far more terrifying than dying; it was a pity it had taken him so long.

"Goodbye Peter," said Harry calmly, turning away from him and walking back along the path.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Home."

Peter ran after him and grabbed his sleeve.

"What about_ me_?"

"What about you? That's your problem Peter, you're always thinking of yourself, never of anyone else," said Harry wrenching his arm out of Peter's grip. "And you know, if you could look me in the eye and say that you'd do it all again, I _would_ have killed you. I'd have given you your way out. But you can't, so I can't kill you; you're already dead and one day, you'll realise that."

"Harry please-"

"Get out of my sight and for goodness sake get yourself some dignity." Harry looked scornfully down and Peter's bowed form, "You're always saying that no one ever respected you but you never asked_ why _did you? It's rather ironic actually, that in all the hours of self centered grumbling, you never managed to grasp the concept that the problem was that you didn't respect yourself."

Harry shook his head in disgust and strode away from the pathetic excuse for a human being that was Peter. One day he'd release Peter from the torture chamber that he'd created for himself, but not today. Not on the day that Sirius had died, too much blood had been spilt because of the miserable piece of vermin and Harry wasn't yet ready to let him forget that.

The sound of car wheels on gravel reached his ears and he looked up to see a blue car approaching. It ground to a halt as he stood up and Ginny got out of it.

"You all right?" she asked brushing her windswept red hair out of her eyes so that she could see him properly.

"Yeah, just sorting a few things out."

"So everything's ok now then?"

"In a manner of speaking, just one more thing that needs to be done today though," he said, leaning on the roof of the car and gazing at her across it.

"And what's that?" she asked grinning at him impishly.

Harry paused to take something out of his pocket, it was a box. He walked around the car so that he was next to Ginny and asked softly, "Will you marry me?"

Harry saw her eyes widened in shock, then she laughed, the sound ringing out over the silent grounds.

"Yes."

He took the ring from its box, slid it onto her finger and kissed her hand. She put her arms round his neck and as he kissed her and the sun set in a fiery blaze of colours, he saw whole of his life stretched out before him and it was_ his _to do with as he liked. He'd fulfilled the prophecy, he'd done what was expected of him, now it was time for him to start living the life that others had laid down their lives to ensure he got.

Harry and Ginny broke apart as the last ray of sunlight slipped below the horizon. They had a lifetime to be together now and to Harry, it seemed like an eternity. He held Ginny to him as they watched colours faded from the sky and a light breeze ruffled his black hair. He wanted to remember this moment forever, capture it in his minds eye and keep it with him always. He heard Ginny sigh and looked down into her warm brown eyes questioningly.

She smiled up at him, "I'm just so happy," she said resting her head on his shoulder.

"So am I," he whispered softly, "So am I." And for the first time in three years, he meant it.

And Peter? He could wait, wait for the day when Harry finally caught up with him and brought his miserable life to an end. It might be tomorrow, or next week, or next year and the only thing he could be sure of was that the day was coming, it had always been coming. Peter would have the rest of his life to think about that.

Forever was a long time to wait for revenge but the time spent anticipating it would an eternity hell in itself.


End file.
